PI Update: Dedication To Thommy

It was great seeing Thommy out at the "Thrill The World" event this past Saturday night.

Doing the "Thriller" dance has always been his passion dating back to his days working at 8TRAX.

 

Thommy was one of Save Pleasure Island Blog's original "roving reporters", helping us track all the rumors that were floating around out there about the status of Pleasure Island. Above he is pictured with DJ Scott Robert (USA) at Pulse Nightclub years before the terrorist assault that took place there. We thank Thommy for all he has done for us and for the local scene.

Club Reports: Remix Records South, Thrill The World @ Celebration Gardens, Elixir Bar, Grumpys Underground, Barbarella 2.0

Lots of ghouls on hand last night including former 8TRAX door host Thommy for this rendition of Michael Jackson (USA) hit "Thriller". All the Saturday night pics can be found on sister website Orlando Entertainment News here.

 

Club Reports: Iron Cow, Memento Mori @ Barbarella 2.0, Monkey Bar, Celine

DJ Wednesday Addams aka Lola B (USA) was playing House music at our first stop last night at Iron Cow. Friday night pictures can be found on sister website Orlando Entertainment News here.

Friday Funny

Just in time for this weekend!

DS Update: Coca-Cola Polar Bear Appearances

Swing by the second floor of the Coca-Cola Store for a close encounter of the arctic kind! Fans of all ages are in for tons of frosty fun with the Coca-Cola Polar Bear, who’ll be on hand to pose for photos and share great big bear hugs. Bring your camera—or their in-store photographer can capture the memory for you.  Hours are 12 Noon to 8PM daily although you're urged to call ahead to (407) 560-0107 before you head out.  PHOTO: DISNEY SPRINGS.COM

Halloween Weekend In Techno Town

FRI     28OCT     IRON COW     DJ Lola B (USA), DJ Jane.Doe (USA) & more! *

FRI     28OCT     VANGUARD     DJ Kill The Noise (USA) 

FRI     28OCT     CELINE     DJ Anfisa Letyago (RUS/I)

FRI     28OCT     MEMENTO MORI @ BARBARELLA  DJ Lavidicus (USA)

SAT    29OCT     VANGUARD     DJ Vini Vici (IL)

SAT    29OCT     ELIXIR BAR     DJ Martin Ikin (GB)

SAT    29OCT     GRUMPYS     DJ Jennifer Marley (USA) *

SAT    29OCT     REMIX RECORDS SOUTH     DJ The Reverend (USA)

SAT    29OCT     CELEBRATION GARDENS    Massive "Thriller" Dance @ 6PM

SAT    29OCT     ORLANDO WAREHOUSE     Electronic Group The YellowHeads (D)

SUN   30OCT     SUNDOWN SUNDAYS @ THE PATIO     DJ Dom Morrison (USA)    

MON  31OCT    ELIXIR BAR     DJ Hugel (F)

MON  31OCT    SKYLOUNGE @ AMWAY CENTER     DJ Matthias (USA)

* The late DJ Funkbaby (USA) was originally scheduled to play at this event.

PI Update: Why PI Had To Close

Why Pleasure Island had to close, per Jim Hill Media, back in June, 2008. LINK

 

PI Update: Remaining Faithful

We knew it was going to happen. If we remained faithful, Disney would come to their senses and eventually reopen one dance club and that one would be Mannequins. The place was just too large for anything else to be successful. Still keeping the faith!

Club Reports: The Corner, Aero Bar, Elixir Bar

When DJ Bora Uzer (TR) plugged in that mic and electric guitar, we knew things were about to get completely different. Saturday night pics are on Orlando Entertainment News here.

 

Club Reports: Ember, Elixir Bar, Chunk's Lounge

DJ Rocky (USA) was one of the highlights of last night's bar tour. Our sister website Orlando Entertainment News has all the pictures here.

 

Friday Funny

Oh, come on Fear Factor!  Country music yeah, but not House music!

2022 AAHZ Reunion Lineup Announced!

Arriving right on time on Thanksgiving Eve, Wednesday, November 23rd, the 2022 edition of the AAHZ Reunion lineup has been announced! Of course DJ Kimball Collins (USA), DJ Icey (USA) and Mannequins own DJ Dave Cannalte (USA) will be there along with DJ Baby Anne (USA), but this year they are joined by DJ Tony Faline (USA), DJ John Debo (USA) and DJ Andy Hughes (USA). And as always, it’s taking place in the original home of AAHZ, The Beacham Theater. We’ll post the advance ticket link as soon as they release it. See you on the dance floor!!

This Weekend In Techno Town

A bit of a slow weekend coming up with a lot more scheduled for Halloween weekend next week.

FRI     21OCT     CHUNK'S LOUNGE     DJ JRok (USA)

FRI     21OCT     VANGUARD     DJ duo Knife Party (USA)

SAT    22OCT     ORLANDO AMPHITHEATER      Electro Grp. Rüfüs Du Sol (AUS)

SAT     22OCT     GILT CONCERT VENUE     DJ Inzo (USA)

SAT    22OCT     ELIXIR BAR     DJ Børå Uzer (TK)

PI Update: Sign Of The Times

Some days I like to just stare at the signs.....

.....and dream.

PI Update: Help Re-Create this 8TRAX Spectacle!

Relive those glory days at 8TRAX with this massive recreation of Michael Jackson (USA) classic "Thriller" on Halloween Weekend, Saturday, October 29th. You can participate or just watch this spectacle at exactly 6PM (Arrive Early!) in Celebration Gardens in Winter Park. Former 8TRAX Door Host and Save Pleasure Island Blog roving reporter Thommy will be participating! Details here.

Club Report: Barbarella 2.0

DJ Dave Cannalte (USA) from Mannequins was in the booth last night at Barbarella 2.0 spinning 80's New Wave and Alternative. The pictures are on sister website Orlando Entertainment News here.

 

Club Reports: Red Frog Pub, Mega Deck Party, Medusa's Lair (Carnival Legend)

With our cruise on Carnival Legend sadly coming to a conclusion, there was still time for some more partying! The pictures are on Orlando Entertainment News here.

 

Friday Funny

LOL, Beyonce (USA) claimed in a recent interview that her new album has resurrected House music. Well no honey, House music resurrected itself more than a decade ago and you're late to the game trying to cash-in on it!

 

Club Reports: Pickled Onion, Frog And Onion Pub, Bonefish Bar & Grill, Snorkel Park Beach Club (Bermuda)

We had three strikes against us last night in Bermuda before finally finding DJ Blacklion (BDA) playing an all-EDM set. The pics are on sister blog Orlando Entertainment News here.

This Weekend In Techno Town

Friday is crammed with events; the remainder of the weekend isn't but we will add to it!

FRI     14OCT     HEIST LOUNGE     Torque: DJ Ray Keith (GB)

FRI     14OCT     SKYLOUNGE @ AMWAY CENTER     DJ wAFF (GB)

FRI     14OCT     VANGUARD     DJ Sasha (GB)

FRI     14OCT     BARBARELLA 2.0     Memento Mori:  DJ Lavidicus (USA)

FRI     14OCT     GRUMPYS     DJ Dave Gluskin (USA)

FRI     14OCT     CELINE     DJ Hayden James (AUS)

SAT    15OCT     VANGUARD     DJ Valentino Khan (USA)

SUN   16OCT     SUNDOWN SUNDAYS @ THE PATIO     DJ Carlos Mendoza (USA)

PI Update: Pics From The SkyCam

Since we're traveling today, thought we'd link back to an article from 10-yrs ago where we posted pictures from Save Pleasure Island Blog's exclusive SkyCam. In that posting, we took a look down onto our beloved Island. Click here to view.

 

Club Reports: Sail-Away Party, Medusa's Lair Nightclub (Carnival Legend)

The multi-colored lighted dance floor at Medusa's Lair Nightclub would get jammed as soon as the DJ played 70's Disco and 80's Funk. Good first evening aboard Carnival Legend and all the pictures can be found on Orlando Entertainment News here.

Event Report: Live Dog Racing At Avalon Park

We're on another cruise this week so we'll be posting club reports from Carnival Legend and weather permitting, from Bermuda. Articles may post at odd times so stay tuned. In the meanwhile, check out Saturday evening's live dog racing from Avalon Park on Orlando Entertainment News here.

Concert Report: British Invasion (Ace Cafe)

DJ Roni Size (GB) headlined last night's "British Invasion" show at Ace Cafe and the pictures are now posted to sister website Orlando Entertainment News here.

Friday Funny

PI Update: First To Close, Second To Be Demolished

Opened as XZFR Rockin' Rollerdrome in 1998, Disney quickly learned that alcohol and roller skating don't mix well and by 1990 it was turned into Rock'N'Roll Beach Club. The beach-themed club was home to rock-n-roll on the Island with live Rock bands playing and people dancing.

Home to this outdoor lifestyle mural, we didn't think that much about it when they announced the club was closing permanently on February 2, 2008. Little did we know that in June of the same year, Disney would announce the closing of ALL the Pleasure Island clubs.

In the end, RRBC was the first club to close but the second to be demolished following Motion. Why was it closed first?  At the time, sources said it's likely at that juncture that it had not yet been decided that all the clubs would be closed. Nonetheless, Downtown Disney management was hell bent on outsourcing as much as they could and we were told back then that they allegedly put RRBC up for lease and the lease was snapped-up almost immediately. Impressed about how easily it could be done, management thought they could do the same with all the other club buildings too so they announced the entire Island was closing. But a worsening economy at the time led to whatever was going into the RRBC space to back out and there were no takers on the rest of clubs either. This was followed by 7-8 years of nothing on our beloved Island.

This Weekend In Techno Town

Busy weekend coming up but we'll add to it if we hear of even more events!

FRI     07OCT     IRON COW     DJ Romano Arcaini (D/USA) & DJ Jason Leva (USA)

FRI     07OCT     VANGUARD     DJ Lee Foss (USA)

FRI     07OCT     ACE CAFE     DJ Roni Size (GB), Stanton Warriors (GB) & more!

SAT    08OCT     VANGUARD     DJ Bhaskar (BR)

SAT    08OCT     ELIXIR BAR     DJ De La Swing (E)

SAT    08OCT     GRUMPYS     Lost In Bass: DJ Freddy Fame (USA)

SAT    08OCT     GILT CONCERT VENUE     DJ Minnesota (USA)

SUN   09OCT     ELIXIR BAR     DJ duo Eli & Fur (GB)

SUN   09OCT     SUNDOWN SUNDAYS @ THE PATIO     DJ duo Meen (USA)

PI Update: Street Foods Of The Americas

When we were putting together yesterday's article, we ran across these file photos of the restaurant that eventually opened at Paradiso 37. The named referred to the 37 varieties of tequila available in their restaurant.

During the construction of the restaurant in October, 2008, the signage referred to "Street Foods of the Americas" which we thought would be their name but it just referred to some of the items on their menu.

We recall Downtown Disney advertising the place as one of the many great new things coming to Pleasure Island after the clubs closed when in reality this was already announced and under construction prior to the clubs closing. It was, at the time, the ONLY new thing coming to the Island as all the former clubs remained empty.

PI Update: Those Sad Days After The Closure

The 14th anniversary of Pleasure Island's closing took place last week and these are some pics we took in October, 14 years ago! Although the clubs had closed, people still gathered at the Island's map near Mannequins to see what's what. Most people didn't even know the clubs had closed.

No actual changes at Mannequins post-closure. Of course we knew it would eventually reopen.

The Motion sign had been removed. To keep people from wandering back beside and behind the former club, a fence had been installed in front of the building. We don't know why some club signs had been removed and why they kept others.

8TRAX remained in it's groovy 70's paint scheme but with the 8TRAX signage removed. Mannequins, Adventurers Club and BET Soundstage would keep their signs for a couple more years while the others lost them within days immediately following the closure.

Club Reports: Barbarella 2.0, Wall Street Cantina, Elixir Bar

DJ CID (USA) delivered a House, Latin House and EDM set last night at Elixir Bar downtown and Orlando Entertainment News was there for the pictures. You can find them on this link here.

 

Club Reports: McQueens, Treehouse, Elixir Bar, The Patio

DJ Parry (USA) proved once again that there really IS always a party at The Patio. Check out our club visits last night in downtown Orlando on Orlando Entertainment News here.